NATIVE PASTURE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



23 



ELYMUS GLAUCUS Buckl. 



Elymus glaucus is a species of rye-grass, common and important, especially in the 

 edges of open mountain meadows and among shrubbery, from Michigan to California. 

 Its habit of growth depends upon the environment. It is always a comparatively tall, 

 coarse grass, with a fairly good leafage. In some situations it may grow scatteringly 

 among species of Poa, Danthonia, etc. In other situations it has been seen fully 6 

 feet high growing in large clumps. It is seldom that it makes a pure growth. The 

 seed is produced in abundance, and it is usually of very good quality, but the awns are 

 a drawback. In the locality in which one of the specimens was collected it is com- 

 monly very badly attacked by smut (Tilletia). This, however, has not been observed 

 elsewhere. 



No. 8851 was collected near Summit, Mont., August 15, 1907. The seed was in the 

 milk stage and this sample was cut 2 inches high. No. 8893 was collected near 

 Albany, Oreg., August 25, 1907. In this sample the upper portion of. the culm and 

 many of the leaves were dead and dry. The specimens were 6 feet high and were 

 cut 6 inches above the ground. 





Percent- 

 age of 

 moisture. 



Water-free basis (per cent). 



Material analyzed. 



Ash. 



Ether 

 extract. 



Crude 

 fiber. 



Nitrogen- 

 free 

 extract. 



Protein. 



Pento- 

 sans. 





7.60 

 4.17 



4.59 

 8.47 

 9.61 



2.16 

 1.97 

 2.79 



32.59 

 35.22 

 36.36 



53.18 



50.89 

 43.62 



7.48 

 3.45 

 7.62 





Our sample No. 8893 



21 69 













Average of all 





7.56 



2.31 



34.72 



49.23 



6.18 











i Montana Report, 1902, p. 66. 



ELYMUS TRITICOIDES Buckl. 



Elymus triticoides resembles in many ways the Colorado bluestem. It has under- 

 ground stems and very similar seed habits and appearance, although placed by bota- 

 nists in a different genus. It prefers to grow in alluvial, nonsaline edges of sinks and 

 along river courses. It reaches its best development in the Great Basin and is of less 

 importance in the interior valleys of California. It is an excellent hay grass, often 

 cutting two tons of hay of good quality, which resembles that of the Colorado bluestem, 

 but, unlike that grass, this species grows where the lands overflow once or twice in a 

 season. There is no more promising grass for domestication, as the seed habits are 

 excellent and both the quality and the quantity of seed produced are first class. 



No. 8322 was collected near Bakersfield, Cal., May 27, 1906. The sample was in full 

 blossom and was harvested about 2 inches high. Its percentage of moisture was 6.72. 

 Other constituents (on a water-free basis) were as follows: Ash, 6.33; ether extract, 

 1.97; crude fiber, 39.55; nitrogen-free extract, 46.32; protein, 5.83; pentosans, 25.61. 



ELYMUS VIRGINICUS L. 



Elymus virginicus is a species of wild rye, widely distributed throughout the United 

 States. It never becomes important except in moist woodlands and in nonalkaline 

 situations along river banks. In such situations patches of small extent are commonly 

 found growing to the exclusion of practically everything else. In the natural condi- 

 tion, however, it is of secondary importance on account of the limited areas in which 

 it grows. It produces a good leafage, its seed habits are first class, and it is well 

 adapted to cultivation. Like nearly all of the rye-grasses, it is somewhat coarse, but 

 not so coarse as many of the species. 



No. 8794 was collected near Fargo, N. Dak., August 8, 1907. 

 late blossom and was out close to the ground. 



The specimen was in 



